Jason Zucker scored two power-play goals as part of Buffalo’s four-goal second period and the host Sabres earned their first victory of the season, beating the Ottawa Senators 8-4 on Wednesday.
Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn both also scored twice for the Sabres, who opened the campaign with three consecutive losses. Alex Tuch produced one goal and one assist, and Jiri Kulich added a goal.
Buffalo goaltender Alex Lyon made 33 saves. Josh Doan and Zach Benson both collected three assists, while Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson each had two helpers.
Jake Sanderson notched a goal and an assist for the Senators in their first game since receiving news that captain Brady Tkachuk will be out for a month or more due to a right hand injury.
Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto and Lars Eller also scored, and Jordan Spence had a three-assist outing. Leevi Merilainen stopped 19 shots as their Senators took their third straight defeat since an opening win.
McLeod sparked Buffalo’s offensive outburst when he erased a 2-1 deficit by netting a short-handed goal at 6:46 of the middle frame. Tuch then put the Sabres ahead just past the midway point by pouncing on a rebound.
Zucker posted a pair of man-advantage markers less than two minutes to expand the margin. He buried a shot from the top of the left circle at 11:46 to make it a 4-2 affair. It became a three-goal edge when he redirected Doan’s shot from the slot for his third goal of the season.
That set the stage for a wild start to the third period. Pinto gave the Senators a much-needed jolt with a nifty deflection 40 seconds into the fame for his fifth goal of the season, and Eller made it a 5-4 game at the 2:15 mark.
However, after Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff called a timeout, McLeod responded with his second of the game 17 seconds later and Quinn restored Buffalo’s three-goal edge at 3:17, further quashing Ottawa’s comeback hopes.
Kulich rounded out the scoring with an empty-net goal at 16:44.
The clubs traded first-period goals. Quinn’s power-play tally at 8:01 opened the scoring, but Stutzle notched his first of the season at 16:09 with a deflection.
Sanderson put the visitors ahead at 3:58 of the second period by shoving the puck over the line during a scramble, but the Senators could not hold on.
